THOMAS A. O'DONNELL

THOMAS A. O'DONNELL of Salem and Danvers, MA died March 2, 2019 at the age of 76. A third generation funeral director, he joined his father in operating the family business, Henry J. O'Donnell & Sons in Salem. Tom acquired ownership of the firm upon the death of his father in 1970 and was one of the first funeral directors in the United States to begin accepting pre-arranged funerals. He acquired the Peterson Funeral Home in Danvers in 1987 and continued to own and operate the Peterson-O'Donnell Funeral Home in Danvers and O'Donnell Funeral Home in Salem until 2013, when he passed along the family legacy to his son, Anthony. A 1970 graduate of the former New England Institute of Mortuary Science, he was a member of the Massachusetts Funeral Directors Association, National Funeral Directors Association and served twice chairman of the Division of Professional Licensure, Board of Funeral Directing and Embalming.